8 Iraqis Killed, 13 Wounded in Market Blast
An explosion Thursday at a market in Baqubah, about 30 miles north of Baghdad, killed eight Iraqis and wounded 13, a U.S. military spokesman said.
The market is believed to have been struck by a mortar, Sgt. Danny Martin said.
Further details were not immediately available.
In the southern part of the country, Basra was awaiting the arrival of 61 New Zealand army engineers who are to begin rebuilding roads and other reconstruction work. The unit left Wellington today.
Seeking to calm fears that the troops could be caught up in the violence in Iraq, Prime Minister Helen Clark said the engineers would be in a safer part of the country than U.S troops are.
She also said they were doing humanitarian work.
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